22 May, 2007

ET and TRA confusion

I think my head is in the clouds again. Can someone tell me what they exactly mean by this (taken from Emirates Today):

Mobile users will soon be able to switch between service providers without having to change their numbers – including the dial code.

A system called mobile portability is to be introduced by the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority. This will enable customers to choose between etisalat or du – the UAE’s two telecommunication service providers – and retain their numbers and the dial code of 050 or 055.

The mobile code for etisalat subscribers is 050 and for du it is 055. Du had an offer where people could opt for its network, retaining their etisalat number, but under that deal the code would change from 050 to 055.

So what happens to those people who booked du numbers that have a different Etisalat owner?
Posted by flamin at 12:23 pm

9 comments:

i*maginate said...

Expect another advertisement giving out free gifts to make up for this 'confusion'!

Unfortunately, those who decided to stick with Etisalat won't be benefiting from these free gifts!

22 May, 2007 12:56
AyMoNy said...

True.. if you can switch your old etisalat number to DU without changing the area code (050), there would be no use of all the fuss with the number booking campaign (expect for the Thank You offer).

-----
So what happens to those people who booked du numbers that have a different Etisalat owner?
-----

I didn't get your question. There are no Du number having an etisalat owner. Du number start with 055. Etisalat number start with 050. So if I have booked the number 055-1234567 while there is an etisalat user who owns 050-1234567, he can switch to DU without interfering with my number coz the area code wouldn't change. This shouldn't be a problem.

22 May, 2007 13:32
i*maginate said...

LOL. Old-fashioned sometimes is the best answer. Etisalat has proven themselves right, and those who switched to DU are going to be adding much more to life than life itself with the latest confusions.

22 May, 2007 17:17
Anonymous said...

"Du number start with 055. Etisalat number start with 050. So if I have booked the number 055-1234567 while there is an etisalat user who owns 050-1234567, he can switch to DU without interfering with my number coz the area code wouldn't change."

What does switch to mean? Please be kind enough to clarify. Will he get two bill for the same number?

22 May, 2007 18:55
B.D. said...

It isn't complicated if you think about it in concrete terms. Whatever number you happen to have at the time the new switch campaign is implemented you will continue to have that number, even if you decide to switch from Du to Etisalat or vice versa. The earlier Du booking campaign is already a done deal. A whole lot of people got new 055... numbers. Now, if for some reason they decided that wanted to switch back to Etisalat they would still keep their 055... number.

22 May, 2007 21:39
flamin said...

LOL...is it weird that I still don't get it? If I own 055-1234567 and I'm using it and it's corresponding Etisalat owner (050-1234567) decides to switch to du. Will they take my number away or what?

23 May, 2007 11:41
AyMoNy said...

They will not take the number away because they will still be 050 instead they are DU..

Just consider the 050 or 055 as part of the number itself and you'll find out they are totally different number for different customers..

055-1234567 --> Your number on DU
050-1234567 --> his number on DU

24 May, 2007 10:51
muscati said...

The regulator is in charge of giving out numbers to the operators. In the UAE, they give numbers begining with 050 to Etisalat and 055 to DU. Until now, whenever you got someone's number you could immediately tell if they were on Etisalat or Du. Once number portability begins you will no longer be able to tell no more.

New numbers will continue to be 050 for Etisalat and 055 for Du. It's just that anyone can switch his number to the other network. Say you've been wanting to try out Du's network but the fact that you'd have to contact everyone on your phone book to tell them of the change was stopping you, now you can switch without anyone knowing.

26 May, 2007 17:48
Anonymous said...

aymony...i get it! Shukran!

26 May, 2007 20:41

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